


Generation HERO

by mermorgie



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Gen, Will add tags as I go, basically just rewriting the series, gotta get through quarantine somehow!, mostly follows canon with some self indulgent additions, so im getting through it by forcing the ygo gx series to make sense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23315830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mermorgie/pseuds/mermorgie
Summary: Yuki Judai had never been a normal kid.Separated from his parents after they had almost gotten him killed in an underground lobotomy, dueling was all he ever had. No money and no future, he applies to the esteemed Kaiba Corporation Dueling Academy in hopes that his pure skill could get him in despite his obvious lack of education. To his surprise, he gets accepted and is flung into a life of new friends and dramatic adventures that change his life forever.Not until after he changes their lives first, of course.
Relationships: Manjoume Jun | Chazz Princeton & Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki, Marufuji Shou | Syrus Truesdale & Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki, Misawa Daichi | Bastion Misawa & Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	1. KCDA

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm bored.  
> I love GX and have since I was a kid and now I feel like making it into less of a ridiculous collection of weird hairstyles and dramatics plotlines that make minimal sense and more into a Shonen-type story. Things are gonna be different in a lot of places but I'm literally watching the show as I write this so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> idk man I'm stuck inside with my poor-anger-management-mother for weeks on end atm and I guess fanfiction about my favorite childhood series is how I cope.  
> I suck at writing so have fun with that.

In Domino City, a bustling ramen shop was slowly overflowing with middle schoolers. Some nervous, some crestfallen, some confident, and some wistfully watching the old TV screen in the corner as a well-dressed newscaster sat behind a large desk, discussing a certain CEO.

‘ _Kaiba Seto-- an unbelievable story of an orphan boy turned multimillion business owner by the age of 18. The Kaiba Corporation is known for many things, AI systems, robotics, and famous and skilled coders and technicians from around the world, but the newest young boss of the Kaiba Corp has zeroed in on his own interests-- that of the up and coming card game known as “Duel Monsters.”‘_

The old, thick TV flickered a moment as Maximillion Pegasus’ face replaced the newscaster on the screen, a large showman’s smile on his face and one of his eyes shadowed by his long silver hair. A fist reached out from the crowd around the bar, lightly slamming it into the side of the TV and bumping the screen back into focus. A few patrons muttered thanks.

_‘Kaiba was mocked for his decision at first, as at the time the game was known as little more than a children’s card game, but it soon became obvious that Kaiba was ahead of the game when not even a year later, DM had risen to exponential heights of popularity.’_

Saturdays at three weren’t usually the busiest times at ramen shops, with people still satisfied from lunch and not hungry for dinner yet, but numerous students were starved after their various high school entrance exams. The first wave must had finished their tests not too long ago as a large group of students entered the shop.

The first wave finishing meant the second wave would start soon, a worker realized. He kept half an eye on a new group of students loudly complaining about tests and proctors as they entered the small, crowded shop.

_‘Having started investing early, Kaiba was at the top of the industry from the very beginning-- from mass production of cards to new advanced technology for gaming systems the world had never seen. Kaiba ran his own tournaments, both pulling in great deals of money and raising the popularity of the already soaring game.’_

The ramen cook took a moment to lean away from the boiling pot beneath his face to bellow at the young teen currently carrying a box full of sauces from the back “Judai!” The boy looked up, startled but a carefree grin quickly covering his face as he acknowledged the man with a ‘yeah?’, “Don’t you have your own entrance exam soon?”

. The boy’s hair was a brown fluff ball, only partly due to the steam of the small shop and mostly due to the natural state of the unbothered boy, and his old gakuen covered in oil stains under a considerably much more oil-stained apron.

The boy’s smile faltered at the man’s question as he quickly placed the cardboard box down on the oily counter and leaned around the bustling patrons to get a look at the clock in the corner of the TV screen.

_‘It wasn’t long before the Kaiba Corporation became the face of the Duel Monsters game, even more so than the creator of DM Maximillion Pegasus. In fact, Pegasus himself endorsed Kaiba Seto numerous times and attending most, if not all of his tournaments and events. In as little as five years, Kaiba Corp had risen DM to the highest rate of popularity ever seen in a children’s card game, to the point that it’s considered even offensive to refer to it as such in our day.’_

Below a video clip from the last Kaiba Corp Duel Monsters Tournament with Kaiba himself shaking hands with Pegasus as a smug-looking boy held a trophy between the two men, the clock showed 3:14 PM.

Judai grimaced as he quickly slid the box down to the worker and tried to untie the back of an apron in the same motion, “Shit, thanks Takeshi-san!” stumbling over himself as he attempted to wrestle free of the apron ties, “You good if I leave now?”

The man snorted good-naturedly, not even looking Judai’s way as he pulled a bottle out of the cardboard box and flipped the cap open, “You’re already late, aren’t cha’? Started at three didn’t it?”

He didn’t _need_ to look at Judai to know that the boy was nearly tripping over patrons on his way to the door, hearing the boy’s loud carefree laugh taking over the whole ramen shop, “When am I _ever_ on time?”

_‘It’s not uncommon for Duel Monsters to be played in every household in Japan, along with most of the rest of the world, and is even now being commonly used to settle disputes. It’s gotten to the point that gangs have adopted dueling as their method of conflict and even political disputes were being compromised through duels.’_

One hand pouring soy sauce over a pan of noodles, the other lazily waved Judai off without a backward look, “Go, go, you brat. Don’t want to piss off the school before you’re even accepted, huh?”

A crash sounded and the shop went quiet.

Takeshi whirled around in alarm to find the cardboard box Judai had set down smashed on the ground with red and brown liquids leaking out the bottom. A stammering, red in the face customer stood over it, glancing frantically between Takeshi and the ruined sauces, a look of dawning horror and embarrassment on his face, “It-- it’s not my fault! What kind of shitty shop puts their goods where customers can knock them over?!”

Takeshi wanted to growl, torn between not wanting to make a scene and his need to tell this brat off for not taking responsibility.

But before he could move, Judai had shoved his way back into the center of the shop, “Hey, hey, no problem!” The boy threw a grin up through his messing brown bangs at the fidgeting customer as he crouched down to carefully slide his fingers under the soaked cardboard, “I’ll get it cleaned up and you can enjoy your ramen, okay?”

_Not okay_ , Takeshi thought, glaring at the customer as the kid stammered out something like “you better” as he backed away and noise returned to the small store in a rush. Takeshi wanted so badly to make the brat pay for the ruined sauces he’d now have to replace, but gods know if he made a fuss Judai would try to use his own meager funds to cover the fee.

Takeshi held anger back and affectionately patted Judai on the shoulder as the boy stood back up, box now in his arms and sauces soaking the front of his clothes, “Leave that to me, Judai. You got your test to get to.”

Cheerful and seemingly carefree, Judai grinned up at Takeshi and skipped out of his reaching arms for the box, “No worries, old man!” Takeshi threw a glare at the nickname, only serving to make Judai laugh, “I got this. Besides, now you’ll need someone to pick up a new set of sauces don’t cha’?”

Takeshi cursed under his breath. He forgot. That was their last stock of sauces and their other part-timer wasn’t scheduled to work until after their own entrance exam finished, making Takeshi the only worker there for another two hours.

“Judai--”

“Don’t worry about it!” Judai was already ducking into the back storage, tossing the ruined box into a corner to clean up later and darting for the mop and bucket as he rose his voice to yell at his boss in the front room, “Today’s practicals and you know that won’t take me all _that_ long.”

“It’ll have to be one hell of a practical to make up for your written exam score,” Takeshi mumbled, shaking his head good-naturedly as he turned back to the stove with _another_ group of kids coming in the door, accepting that he wouldn’t get off without the stubborn teenager’s help.

_‘Not one to miss an opportunity, Kaiba Seto quickly took advantage of the game’s new role in society. If skill in Duel Monsters was to determine such decisions in every aspect of society, Kaiba would make money teaching people how to win.’_

The middle-aged man’s eyes flickered to the TV screen, still going on about some Kaiba Corporation special, as he listen to Judai cheerfully make conversation with customers as he mopped up the remaining sauce on the floors.

The man sighed. Takeshi wanted Judai to get into this school he was gunnin’ for, but it was a rich fucking place and Judai didn’t exactly have the money for top education. He was barely surviving off the salary he got at the shop.

_‘Thus, Kaiba founded the Kaiba Corporation’s Dueling Academy.’_

Takeshi waved Judai goodbye as the kid shouted goodbye and ran out the door to pick up a new set of sauces, guilt gnawing at his chest as the TV screen flashed an image of a ridiculously large high school.

Could a poor, foster kid like Judai get into a school like that?

In downtown Domino City, a Kaiba Corp-owned duel arena was packed with students still in uniforms from their various middle schools. A good chunk had already been dismissed for home, either with a failing grade or a passing percentage. The remaining students were split between applicants in testing duels against teachers and proctors and spectators watching and waiting for their turn.

In the stands, carefully watching the duels, was a collection of blue-jacketed professors, some frantically taking notes on pads of paper and some devoting full attention to the duels. After all, a student’s score on the practical exam accounted for half the grade an applicant was evaluated for; they couldn’t afford to mess something up.

In the lobby of the arena, tables were set up covered in forms and name cards as a few students had yet to check-in. A worker checked his watch, forty-five minutes since the doors had opened and fifteen since the last student had checked in. He slid down his chair lazily, the last worker left manning the tables and bored out of his mind. Would anyone else even show up? Who would be applying to such a prestigious school but would show up so late?

Low in his chair, he titled his head backward over the metal chair back to catch one of the TVs on the wall behind him.

_‘KCDA was built on an island bought by the previous Kaiba head for experiments and research, research that had gone nowhere. Kaiba Seto didn’t hesitate to repurpose the property for a removed campus, far away from distractions and potential danger._

_‘The school only took two years to build, with four campus buildings. One educational building the size of a small town, and three dorms. Depending on a student’s grades and performance, they would be placed in respective dorms with varying levels of perks and luxury.’_

Every screen in the lobby flashed and changed to an interview clip with Kaiba Seto, the man’s cold shadowed eyes looking straight into the camera like a challenge.

_‘“Your skill will determine everything. If you can’t act like the best of the best, you won’t be treated as the best.”’_

The man snorted, glaring up at the screen. What he’d give to get a job there on campus instead of handing out name cards in some random duel arena in Domino City.

The sound of an explosion rocked the lobby and the man nearly fell out of his chair. Cursing, he quickly righted himself before anyone saw. Some kid must have finished their practical.

In the arena, a proctor’s life points dropped to zero as his holographic _Abyss Flower_ visually shattered under the onslaught of an _Axe Dragonute_. On the other side of the dueling court, a boy in a clean black gakuen with well kept black hair and cold black eyes smirked.

The boy sent a holier than though look at the watching judges in the stand as he called out to them, “Did you see that?!”

The boy’s shout caught attention not just from the judges, but the other students both in and out of practical duels as well. In the arena next to the boy’s left, one boy, in particular, jumped at the volume and looked nervously over at the finished duel.

The small boy sported a small pair of round glasses and his own black gakuen expensive like the first boy but much more disheveled like he had put it on in a hurry. His hair was a messy mint green, and his face was pulled into a pinched frown.

“That’s what the Manjoume family does!” The black-haired boy continued to shout, unbothered by the attention he was gathering and a wide old smirk on his face, “That’s the kind of dueling that comes from years of skill and top education! That’s the dueling of an _elite!_ ”

Cheering came from a portion of the crowd, not-surprisingly a portion wearing the same expensive-looking gakuen and shouting “Jun! Jun! _Jun_!”

The judges watched as Manjoume Jun proudly sauntered out of his arena and towards his cheering schoolmates, some teachers shaking their head in exasperation while some nodded sagely as if agreeing with the boy’s words.

Among the professors was a tall foreign-looking man with long blonde hair and pronounced cheekbones, watching the duels with a sour expression that twisted into a self-satisfied smirk as he watched the ‘elite’ boy make his way up the steps.

The smaller boy in the arena over watched in awe.

_I wish I had his confidence,_ the boy thought, eyes nervously snapping back to his own proctor who was waiting for him to finish his turn, _Money and education can’t do much for a wimp like me._

He looked between his hand and his field, knowing that if he didn’t act soon his opponent’s _Baby Dragon_ would destroy his own _Truckroid_ , but was startled from his thoughts at the stern shouting of the proctor, “Hey, Marufuji Sho!” He startled nearly dropping his cards in his haste to stand up straight and pay attention, “You can’t take this long in a real duel! If you wait any longer they’ll be docking you points.”

“I-I’m sorry!” Sho quickly pressed the button on the right end of his duel disk, “I end my turn!”

It wasn’t until the man drew his card that Sho realized that in his hand, he had drawn a _Power Pickaxe_ card. His heart sank. If he had waited just a second, he could have added 500ATK to his _Truckroid_ and would have won in that turn.

As his opponent entered his battle phase, Sho felt sweat drip down the back of his neck. He knew it would dock him major points with how much longer this duel was going to take now, and the thought of all these teachers and students watching him fail was only driving his anxiety further up.

He took a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm himself. His written exam score wasn’t bad. It’s not like he needed to _ace_ the practical. Glancing at the TV screen at the end of the arena hall, Sho wished he could have already been accepted into the school, like his brother.

_‘The school began accepting admissions seven years ago, seeing thousands upon thousands of applicants every year. Reaching Kaiba Seto’s expectations isn’t easy, and only 5-10% of applicants pass the entrance exam with a score of 60% or higher.’_

The sounds of the TV were temporarily drowned out as a feminine voice sounded over the loudspeaker, “Misawa Daichi, please advance to court 7 for your practical exam. Thank you.”

In the stands, a boy stood up and quickly and gracefully navigated his way out of the students in the stands. Most students had finished their duels, not waiting around for friends to finish or just to watch the other duels, and Misawa Daichi was one of the last left.

Short and neatly cropped black hair, the boy looked a picture of “academia.” Despite his old, worn uniform sticking out among the sea of clean expensive fabrics, the boy looked calmly confident as he made his way down the stands.

Students whispered as he passed, giggling and gossiping. They recognized his uniform, and mocked the chances of someone from the local public school passing an exam for such a prestigious school.

“What’s he _thinking?_ ” A girl snickered to her friend, no care for whether the boy heard her or not.

The boy did, in fact, hear her. His jawed stiffened and his steps did not falter.

Back in the lobby, the man’s watch showed 3:59 PM. It was time to cut off the arriving students.

Behind him, the Kaiba Corp special came to a close; fitting as it was time for his tear down his set up.

_‘With the new school year beginning soon, KCDA is accepting applications once again, and thousands of families are flooding the application pool. Good luck prospective students-- you’ll need it.’_

“ _Waaaaaiiiit_!” The man startled so hard a form or two slipped out of the stack in his hands as he jumped, his head snapping to the front of the lobby as a messy boy nearly crashed through the glass doors as he pushed them open, “I’m _…._ ” the boy nearly collapsed in the doorway, leaning heavily on his knees as he panted, “ _Here_!”

The boy’s head snapped up, revealing a sheepish grin on his face, eyes lit up with determination even as he struggled to regain his breath. Weirdly enough, the man at the table felt… _overwhelmed_ under the boy’s gaze.

“Yuki Judai-- I’m here for my exam!”


	2. A Hero Deck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judai makes it to his entrance exam just in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posting both 1 and 2 in the same day

3:48 PM and Judai was fucking late.

He nearly tripped over at least a dozen pedestrians as he sprinted past, probably wasting precious time as he slowed down to shout apologies. The arena was only a few miles away from Takeshi’s ramen shop but picking up a new batch of sauces before dinner rush took a sec, a sec the already-late Judai couldn’t afford.

He could have just not gotten the sauces, as his shift had ended quite some time ago, but… That just wouldn’t be Judai, would it?

At his speed, a pretty impressive speed if he said so himself, he could probably get to the arena gate with a few minutes to spare. Judai grinned to himself, narrowly avoiding colliding with a student on their cellphone in the middle of the sidewalk and throwing a short “sorry!” back at the startled middle-schooler.

Judai liked a challenge.

_This is like my first trial to becoming a duelist_ , Judai thought to himself, a laugh on his breath if not for the precious air being used to fuel his sprinting, _Just you wait, Duel Academy!_

3:49, 3:50, 3:51, Judai was almost there. He was starting to feel the burning in his lungs but didn’t slow down a moment. He was, as Takeshi-san put it, “quite the stubborn little shit.”

Only a minute away, Judai could catch sight of the arena between other buildings if he turned his head in a certain way. Grin stretching wide across his face, he was nearly ready to call the whole thing a success-- which is exactly when ran into something.

Two bodies collided, Judai’s shoulder catching on the other person’s torso. Eyes wide and a shout bubbling in his throat, Judai felt his body turn in the air and tried to put his feet properly beneath him.

Before his body fell even another inch, he felt a warm hand firmly grip his bicep. Judai’s efforts to stay upright combined with the stranger’s weight grounding him, Judai kept his feet beneath him.

Heart pounding, Judai’s mind only lingered on his potential fall for a moment before rushing to apologize, “Shit, man, I’m so sorry--!”

Turning, his gaze shot up to meet the stranger head-on, prepared to apologize his ass off, but froze as he made eye contact. Eye contact with deep, violet eyes.

Judai’s voice died in his throat.

The other man smiled, something weirdly fond about his expression.

Standing in front of him, just having stopped Judai from falling on his fucking face, blonde bangs hanging in his eyes and curly black hair pulled back in a fluffy ponytail, was the King of Games himself, Moto Yugi.

“You-- you’re--” Judai stammered, uncharacteristic for him.

“Don’t apologize,” Yugi’s voice was deep, but soft and almost comforting, as he smiled gently down at Judai, “I should have been paying attention, too.” He pointedly glanced past Judai towards the boy’s destination, the arena now clearly seen from their position on the sidewalk, “You’re in a hurry, I’m assuming?”

A bolt of electricity zipped down Judai’s spine. Fuck. Yeah. He’s late. Uuuuugh shit-- does he really have to be late at a time like this?

“Uuh, yeah--”

“Then I’ll make this quick.”

It wasn’t until the warmth left his arm that Judai realized the hand that saved him had still been holding on while they talked. He felt his face grow warm.

The older man quickly flipped open a small container on his belt, and with a rush, Judai realized it was a cardholder.

Not even needing to look down, the man slid a single card out from the middle of his deck and, in a smooth motion, presented it to Judai, “This is a lucky card,” The man’s smile was both warm and slightly amused, “Something tells me it wants to go where you’re going.”

“Eh?” A confused smile came unprompted to Judai’s face as his hands accepted the offered card on autopilot, “Th-thanks?” Ugh, was Judai’s voice always that squeaky?

Holding the card in his hand, Judai wondered if the warmth he felt from the card was from the other man’s body heat.

Already starting to turn away, the man gave Judai’s shoulder a gentle push, “Go, pass your test.”

“Y-yes, sir!” Feet stuttering back a few steps, Judai bowed frantically, far lower than he’d ever bowed for any teacher he’d ever had.

To his surprise, the man paused and sent a smile over his shoulder, giving Judai a thumbs up.

Judai stood in awe for a moment, a goofy smile on his face before remembering that he had been handed a card and he quickly went to investigate it. It’s not like it mattered what card it was-- _it was a gift from the fucking King of Games for shits sake!_ \-- but he wanted to get a look at the thing as quickly as he could.

The card read ‘ _Winged Kuriboh_ ’ and pictured an average _Kuriboh_ with, you guessed it, wings. It was cute, Judai decided.

While admiring his new card, Judai thought he heard something. It was like some sort of animal cooing ‘ _Kuri kuri_!’ in his ear, but surveying the area showed no sign of cats or birds or anything.

“UuuuugGGHHH!” Judai yelled at himself, frantically shaking his head, trying to clear his mind, “I’ve got SHIT to do!”

He quickly, but delicately, slid the new card into his own cardholder and spun on his heel to continue his sprint to the arena. He’d be lucky if he made it on time now.

A stupid grin covering his face, Judai thought that he’d be fine with that. After all, he was lucky enough to have met Moto Yugi in person. He wanted badly to get into KCDA, but not much was going to get his mood down now.

“Alright!” He whooped to himself, scaring fellow pedestrians on the sidewalk as he practically jumped in joy mid-sprint, “I’m gonna ace this practical!”

Cheering himself on as he ran, it wasn’t until hours later that Judai thought to wonder how the complete stranger had known he was taking an entrance exam that day.

It took some arguing quite a bit of begging, but Judai eventually convinced the man working the check-in table to let him take his practical exam. 3:59 is not 4:00! Luckily, with Judai pouting in the most pathetic way he could muster and the man grumbling, one last practical duel was added to the schedule.

The worker nervously found his way to the judge’s section, the various teachers discussing among themselves the students’ performances for the evening.

“Clearly,” a tall foreign-looking man with blonde hair and pronounced cheekbones loudly talked over the other professors, most of them rolling their eyes in annoyance at the usual antics of the fellow faculty, “Manjoume Jun will be added to my dorm,” He sniffed proudly, an insufferable smirk on his face, “Only my dorm will suit such a high achieving student!”

The other teachers muttered among themselves, but one teacher, in particular, acknowledged him directly. The only judge not in a blue coat, but rather a simple white button, his smile amicable but his squinted eyes unreadable, “Oh, Chronos-sensei?” His voice was eerily high pitched and the turn of his body shifted the sleeping cat on his lap, an odd sight for a teacher in a professional setting, “You’re already making decisions when you haven’t even seen his written exam score yet?”

Chronos scoffed, head thrown back in derision, “Isn’t it obvious, Daitokuji-sensei? A family as esteemed as the Manjoumes would be able to afford the best tutors around! I’m certain Manjoume Jun-kun would have been perfectly prepared to pass the written exam with flying colors.”

Daitokuji hummed thoughtfully, mindlessly running his fingers through his cat’s fur, “Isn’t it a bit sad, though?”

Chronos blinked in confusion squinting down at the professor in the level below him, “Sad? What, exactly, is sad, Daitokuji-sensei?”

In the distance, a boy with fluffy brown hair entered the arena, looking around curiously, and Daitokuj’s eyes carefully followed his movements from behind a pair of rectangular glasses, “Isn’t it hard for students who aren’t from wealthy families to pass our entrance exams? Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair, Chronos-sensei?”

At that, Chronos blanched a moment before loudly scoffing, earning glares from nearby teachers, “Oh, please--”

“Um, Chronos-sensei, Daitokuji-sensei,” The check-in worker nervously approached the teachers, deferring to the two longest-standing teachers of the academy, “We have, uh, one more applicant.”

The poor man sweated at the sheer number of annoyed looks shot at him from various teachers, but Chronos’ reaction was the most outraged, “‘ _One more_ ’?” The teacher’s voice was shrill as he leaned forward threateningly in his seat, glaring daggers at the intern, “Our last applicant just finished-- or is your brain incapable of reading a basic schedule, _intern_?”

The intern flushed, stuttering out a reply, but Daitokuji’s carefree laugh saved him from answering, “It’s fine, it’s fine!” The nicer teacher turned around in his seat to send a comforting smile at the younger worker, “Was there another one we missed?”

The worker glanced nervously between the two teachers but settled his gaze on the latter, “One more applicant showed up before time ran out, sir.”

Chronos scoffed, leaning back in his seat, “Time has already run out, intern.”

“Yes, but--” The intern swallowed nervously, “He made it through the doors just before 4 PM.”

Before Chronos could tell him off, Daitokuji replied cheerfully, “Oh, then he made it! That’s good,” The man hummed, “It’d be sad if he missed the last practical session we were holding.”

“Daitokuji-sensei,” Chronos snarled, shifting his glare from the intern to his fellow professor, “We can’t let some,” Chronos wrinkled his nose, “ _Slacker_ show up at the last minute and be given the same chance as everyone else!”

“The rules say check-in closes at four,” Daitokuji replied, smile unbothered, “And this boy followed the rules. Let him take the exam, Chronos-sensei.”

“Your written exams are over with! The practicals are my jurisdiction! Why are you even here?”

“Is it not natural for a teacher to care about his potential future students?”

“Well, it is not your place to question my procedures in my tests!”

“Should we call headmaster Samejima?”

“ _Hrmph_!” Chronos stood abruptly from his seat, starling the eavesdropping professors nearby, “Fine! Let the boy take the exam!” Chronos abruptly turned his scorn to the worker, who jumped in fear, “You, intern!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

A twisted smile found it’s way on the European man’s face, a cruel glint in his eyes, “Add the slacker to the schedule. We’ll finish the day off with them.”

The intern nodded frantically, pulling up the exam schedule on their tablet, “And who, sir, will he be facing?”

Chronos stepped around the intern, sending a smug grin at Daitokuji below, “Put down his proctor as Chronos de Medici.”

A nearby professor blanched, “Ch-Chronos-sensei! You’re dueling him yourself?”

Daitokuji hummed, unfazed, “You’d lower yourself down to using an exam deck?”

Chronos guffawed, “You think I’d use those low-level cards? Nonsense!” He gracefully pulled a deck of cards from his hip, proudly displaying them to his fellow teacher, “I’ll be using my own deck!”

The intern stuttered nervously, “It’s protocol to use an exam deck, Chronos-sensei--”

“He came late,” Chronos verbally steamrolled the poor man as he physically shoved past him in the seats, “He will not receive the same treatment as the rest. If he can beat me, he’s proven his worth.”

The faculty whispered nervously to each other as the intern frantically pressed buttons on his tablet to add Yuki Judai to the schedule, and Daitokuji simply laughed good-naturedly, “Have fun, Chronos-sensei!”

Chronos humphed as he left and the intern scrambled to follow.

By the time Judai entered the active part of the arena, most students were gone and only one more duel was being finished. In the court closest to the entrance Judai came in from, a tall boy with an old white gakuen was finishing up.

Misawa Daichi was down to 3200 life points, his opponent down to 1900.

“No matter how elite you may be,” the proctor smirked, gesturing his arms to his side of the field, “In the face of my hyper-defense deck, you won’t be able to chip away at my life points anymore!” True to his word, his field held three monsters in defense mode with a minimum of 2000DEF points.

In Daichi’s field sat _Vorse Raider_ with 1900ATK and facedown card. The monster could bring the proctor down to 0LP if only it could penetrate the wall of monsters.

“I activate my trap card, ‘ _Ring of Destruction_ ,’” Daichi clicked a button on his duel disk revealing a purple card with a picture of a ring decorated with grenade-like ornaments. The proctor balked, and Daichi smirked, “This trap destroys one faceup monster on the field, dealing damage equal to its ATK points to each of us.”

A holographic image conveying the ring on his card circled around his monster’s neck before exploding in a flash of light. Daichi’s life points went down to 1300, and the proctor down to zero.

A complete 180 from his earlier competitive nature, the proctor calmly stated, “Exam duel complete. Congratulations. You won.”

Daichi, with his back straight and posture proper, bowed respectively, “Thank you very much.”

In the stands, Manjoume Jun’s friends casually discussed the duels around him, “Daichi Misawa. He’s very good, isn’t he?”

On the other side of Jun, another boy answered, “After hearing the rumors, it was worth staying behind to watch him,” He turned to the boy between them, “Right, Manjoume?”

Jun scoffed and disdainfully turned his nose up at the distant Daichi, “Nonsense, the bar for the entrance exam duels is set way too low,” He snorted in annoyance, “60% is passing? Anyone lower than 85% should even be considered!”

In contrast, Judai on the other side of the arena watched in interest, “Look at them go at it!” Judai commented, voice breathless and eyes shining with excitement as he leaned his elbows on the back of the closest seat, “Hey, kid,” he called out to the nearest student, the short boy with green hair jumping in his seat and whirling around to meet Judai’s gaze with panicked eyes, “How many more duels are left?”

Sho’s gaze shifts nervously between the stranger and the courts in front of them. There was no one else around, so this other boy was clearly talking to him, right? Sho swallowed nervously, “Oh, um, I think--”

“I was the last,” The poor boy is interrupted from his stuttering as Daichi ascended the stairs, having wasted no time returning to his seat.

Judai groaned and his torso slumped even further down the chair in front of him, “Uuuuugh,” Sho and Daichi sending him one nervous, one calm, and two equally judging looks at the noise he was making, “I really missed all the action!”

At that, Sho frowned, “Have you not dueled yet?” He felt a little rude asking, but the other boy didn’t seem to have been there very long, and...

Judai shrugged, an odd motion with his body lazily thrown over the seat, “Just got here.”

Daichi sat in the seat on Judai’s other side that Sho was not occupying, sending a raised eyebrow at the boy in the middle without turning his way, “As I said; I was the last. Considering there should be no more after the ‘last,’ I’m not sure I understand when you intend to conduct your practical exam.”

Sho looked nervously between the two boys, not sure if they were having a friendly conversation or if the last comment was supposed to be a jab, but Judai just turned his head to Daichi with a goofy grin on his face, “Oh, it’ll work out!”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Hmmmm, it just will!”

“So you have no proof of this?”

Judai let out a barking laugh at that, startling Sho halfway out of his seat, “Whatever happens, happens!”

Daichi seems surprised by this, but simply smiled, pityingly, as he looks away, “Well, I hope it goes as well as you’re expecting.”

“So what’s your guys’ names?” Judai blurts out, turning his head cheerfully back and forth between the other two boys, goofy grin still in place, “Mines Yuki Judai!”

“Misawa Daichi,” Before Sho could even open his mouth, Daichi spoke quickly. It was hard to tell if he was annoyed at the conversation or if he was just a quiet, straight forward person.

Half of his question answered, Judai turned a cheerful look to Sho.

“M-Marufuji Sho!” Sho stuttered out, immediately scolding himself for not even being able to say his own goddamn name. Man, and this guy seemed kinda cool.

Luckily, Judai didn’t seem even remotely phased by the two very different personalities sitting on either side of him and laughed happily as he took his weight off the chair in front of him and stretched his arms over his head, “Marufuji and Misawa--” Judai grinned down at them with a smile so wide Sho wondered if his face hurt. Then again, this boy seemed used to smiling, “I’m looking forward to spending these next three years with you two!”

The comment made Sho blush, looking down at his lap and barely being able to mutter his words out, “Oh, um, I don’t know if I passed yet…”

“And frankly,” In contrast to Sho, Daichi was confident and steady in the way he talked, gaze not cold per se as he watched Judai, but impassive and curious, “There’s little chance that you’ll pass if your name isn’t called soon.”

That made Judai laugh again as he lowered his arms to his side in a bouncy swing, and Sho and Daichi were sure that he was a boy comfortable in cheerfulness, “Don’t worry! I’m, like, 100% positive all three of us will be seeing more of each other.”

Like Judai’s words were a trigger to some spell or something, the above PA system called out, “Yuki Judai, please advance to court 3 for your practical exam. Thank you.”

Confused whispers broke out among the remaining students that hadn’t quite left yet, seeing as the exams should have been over with Daichi’s win. Judai grinned up at the ceiling in the general direction of the PA speaker and called out a “thanks!” to the “invisible lady.”

“Well,” Judai called out to Sho and Daichi as he made his way down the stairs, waving as he passed, “I’ll see you guys at the academy!”

Sho couldn’t help but feel impressed at the boy's confidence and cheer, but Daichi seemed considerably less tongue-tied, “Yuki-Kun!” Judai paused and sent a wide-eyed curious glance back at the two as Daishi called out, “What do you mean about being positive that we’ll see each other again?”

Both Sho and Judai looked at the third boy in confusion.

Judai tilted his head to the side and his eyes glanced to the left and his brow furrowed as he thought, “Mmmm, you know…” Hmm, Judai had never really thought about why he was positive. He just had pretty good gut feelings ‘bout stuff. Coming to some sort of conclusion that Daichi and Sho were not privy to, Judai finally smiled cheekily up at the two, eyes closed in mirth, “‘Cause I know we will!”

Not another word, Judai happily bounded down the steps to his awaiting proctor.

While Daichi was carefully trying to decide if the kid was interesting or just plain stupid, Sho watched Judai’s departure with wide eyes.

“He’s….” Daichi’s gaze snaps to show at the boy’s voice and is surprised to see awe practically emanating from the boy’s face, “ _He’s so cool!_ ”

Daichi cleared his throat awkwardly.

The lights in arena 3 are flicked on and Judai wandered his way into the court, mouth hanging open as he looked around in curiosity. Chronos, in contrast, elegantly entered the court from the other side, a large fancy duel disk strapped to his chest.

“Buon Giorno!”

Judai jumped, torn from his curious looking around as he realizes his proctor was already in the court. Practically stumbling over himself, Judai twisted himself around to face his teacher with the best posture he can manage, a valiant attempt to straighten his expression into something more serious, “Ah, uh, Yuki Judai reporting for my exam, sir!”

Chronos smiled, thinly veiled contempt slipping through the unsettling baring of teeth, “Signor Judai, I am Chronos de Medici,” His previously semi-noticeable accent slipped through as he introduced himself, “I oversee the academy’s practical training.”

Rather than look intimidated as Chronos expected, Judai’s face lit up, “What an honor!” The boy cried, nothing but sincerity in his tone, “The one in charge of practical training wants to duel me personally?” A sweet grin covered his face as he bashfully scratched the back of his head, “You must really have high hopes for me, huh?”

On the other side of the court, Chronos’ face slipped into a surprised scowl as the boy laughed. Stupid kid.

Jun, watching from his seat with his friends, watched as Yuki Judai was called down to the arena, immediately taking notice of his old messy gakuen-- noticeably from the lowest quality public school in the prefecture. Jun snorted, cruel smile on his face, _Another poor kid with no education thinking he can get into a school like this? I’d think it was sad-- if I cared._

His attitude changed when he saw the proctor step up on the other side.

Jun’s friends around him whisper across to each other, “Chronos-sensei is facing him personally?”

“Is this Yuki kid really that amazing?”

Jun, himself, was seething, _Why is this brat getting special attention?_ Jun only got an average proctor! If anyone was skilled enough to need Chronos personally, it was _him_!

On the other side of the stands, Daichi’s brow furrowed in confusion, startled to hear Sho gasp beside him, “That’s Chronos-sensei!” The smaller boy cried.

“Chronos-sensei?” Daichi had done a good amount of research into the academy before applying, but only so much information about teachers could be gathered due to confidentiality-- as well as the paranoia of Kaiba Seto.

Sho nodded frantically, face tightening in worry as he watched Judai slip his duel disk on, “Nii-chan says he’s the harshest, most elitist teacher at the school! What is he doing as a proctor?” Sho practically whined.

Daichi hummed in response, turning back to watch the duel carefully. Yuki Judai was interesting enough with just the short conversation they had, but this-- whatever this was-- made it integral that Daichi pay close attention. Both to the dueling style of his future teacher, but to Yuki’s behavior as well.

Chrono’s jacket wasn’t normal, nor was his duel disk. Because they were one in the same. A series of straps held a duel disk-like device to the man’s chest and Judai had to wonder how the man got it on. Judai hadn’t seen very many expensive duel disks outside of TV, his own a used one he bought from a thrift store years ago, but he could tell it had gone through some serious ass modifications.

“Duel coat,” Chronos slapped a round button on his duel disk placed over the center of his chest, “On!”

Judai watches in amazement, mouth open and smile spread in a grin, “That’s so cool!” Chronos pulls the pieces of the duel disk from the sections of his coat and Judai follows the motions with his eyes, “Hey, sensei,” He raises his voice to call across the court, “Can I get a coat like that?”

Chronos smirks, a smug curl to his lips, “All students with exemplary grades have the option to customize their duel disks.” _Though such matters are irrelevant to drop-outs like yourself._

“Okay!” Judai calls back, a sweet cheer in his voice, “I’ll do my best!”

Chronos, annoyed, and Judai, in high spirits, yell in sync, “Duel, start!”

As in accordance with the exam procedure, Judai drew first, “My turn, draw!”

Judai looks down at his cards, adding a monster card to bring his hand up to six, “Okay,” Judai breathes, a smile on his face. _Featherman_ was the only monster card in his hand, so Judai makes the obvious decision, “I summon _Elemental HERO Featherman_ in defense position!”

Placing the card sideways on the middle plate of the duel disk, a holographic image of a white-winged man covered in green feathers appears on Judai’s side of the field, kneeling down and arms crossed in an ‘X’ protectively around his torso. His card reads 1000ATK and 1000DEF.

“Then I set one more card on the field,” Judai inserts a card into one of the slots in the duel disk and a holographic image of the generic back of Duel Monster cards appears on the field, “Turn over!”

With a press of a button on Judai’s duel disk, his main phase ends and Chronos’ turn begins as he draws his card.

“My turn,” Chronos announces with a disgusting amount of grandiose and poise as his duel ‘coat’ ejects a card for him to ‘draw.’

_A HERO deck, huh?_ Chronos considers Judai’s cards, _He considers himself a hero in whatever small town he comes from, huh?_

“Allow me to show you just how large the world is!” Chronos announces with a flourish as he adds his drawn card to his hand in exchange for another, “I activate _Confiscation_ from my hand.” and slides the card into his duel disk and presses a button.

Judai perks up in confusion, tilting his head to the side, “What’s that? _Confiscation_?”

“It allows me to pay 1000 life points to look at my opponent’s hand, chose one card from it, and send it to the graveyard!”

Judai’s hand glowed with a white light as the duel disk scans the data from the cards, displaying the holographic images to Chronos on the other side of the field as Judai ‘oohs’ and ‘aaahs’ at the show.

Chronos scoffs at the four cards in front of him, “A drop-out deck for a drop-out boy, huh?”

For the first time since the duel started, or even since Judai has entered the arena, his smile twitches down as his eyes narrow almost unnoticeably.

Making a decision, Chronos selects the middlemost card, “I’ll send Monster Reborn to the graveyard.”

Judai glares, eerily silent a moment, and slides Monster Reborn into the graveyard slot, letting the disk eat the card.

“Then, I shall set two cards on the field. And then,” With a smirk, Chronos slides a third card into one of the slots, this time pressing the activation button in the same motion, “I activate the spell Heavy Storm from my hand!”

A holographic wind whips up around the field, pulling Judai’s facedown up and into the whirlwind-- along with Chronos’ two facedowns.

“This card destroys all spell and traps cards on the field,” Chronos explains, smug smile on his face as all three cards disappear in a shattering effect.

Judai laughs, ignoring the simulated wind whipping around him, “But, sensei, you hit your own cards with that, too!”

At that, Chronos snickers derisively, “It’s no surprise a drop-out boy like yourself would have such a simple reaction,” as he speaks, the court is covered in black clouds and dark smoke, temporarily obscuring the stands from the duelists, “I special summon _Wicked Tokens_!”

Chronos gestured with a flourish and two golden chimera-like creatures appear on his side of the field, card slots taken up by token symbols.

The crowd watched in awe and confusion and Sho voiced his confusion to Daichi without thinking, “I have no idea what’s going on…”

Daichi answered him, unprompted, “ _Statue of the Wicked_ is a special kind of trap that, after it is destroyed, produces a token,” Daichi considered Chronos carefully, “In order for sensei to use that effect, he destroyed his own _Statues of the Wicked_.”

Sho looks on in awe, both at the professor’s tactics and at Daichi’s knowledge, “Wow…”

By Manjoume’s seat, the others start gossiping again, “That isn’t an exam deck,” One insists, “That’s Chronos-sensei’s _Dark Medieval_ deck!”

“He executed his own combo while containing that kids’ trap!”

“Could any examinee beat that kind of deck?”

“I doubt it!”

Jun smirks crookedly, a laugh on his breath, _If that examinee thought he was special, he’s in for a rude awakening._

“My turn has not yet ended!” Chronos continues, the dark smoke dissipating.

Judai just laughs, unphased by his disadvantage, “This is fun! What are you going to show me next, sensei?”

Chronos is caught off guard a moment, but quickly regains his roll, “I now tribute two _Wicked Tokens_ ,” The golden statues are consumed in light before fading away, leaving Chronos’ field empty, “And summon _Antique Gear Golem_!” only for the field to be taken up by a large light that bends and moves until it’s in the shape of a large looming figure, taller than the walls of the court.

The light fades, revealing an old metal robot made of gears and metal beams, a single red eye glowing from the shadowed depths of a dented helmet. Below the golem read 3000ATK.

In the stands, Daichi gasps. A card that rare…

To Chronos’ surprise, Judai’s smile widens again to impossible lengths as he looks up in awe at the looming metal figure, “Wow!” The boy laughs, “I’ve heard rumors about this!”

Daichi leans in, intrigued, and Sho worries for the boy he was starting to like, “He went right to a level 8 monster!” Sho cries.

Daichi nods, barely aware of Sho’s concern beside him as he mutters to himself, “They say no one has never lost after summoning that card,” Daichi narrows his eyes as Judai, “Does he really have the skill to make the teacher get that serious?”

Chronos, determined to crush the boy’s cheerfulness, laughs loudly and fully, “Here we go!” He activates a command on his duel coat, “Ultimate Pound!”

Slowly moving its heavy limbs, the golem pulls an arm back before swinging it around and slamming a holographic fist down into _Featherman_. With a flash and shattering animation, Judai’s only monster is gone.

Sho breathes in through his teeth, gripping the railing in front of him with anxiety, “ _Ancient Gear Golem_ has 3000ATK-- nothing he has can beat that!”

“That’s not all,” Daichi informed him, now as invested in the duel as Sho, “ _Ancient Gear Golem_ has an effect in which when it attacks a monster in defense position, if it’s attack points are higher than the opponent’s defense points, the difference is converted to damage for the opposing player.”

“Oh-- oh no…” Sho watched Judai anxiously, “That monster breaks all the rules!”

On the field, the holographic metal fist passes through Judai, and his life point meter goes down to 2000LP. Chronos laughs at Judai’s flinch.

Judai starts to shake and Chronos’ laugh increases in volume, “Lost your will to fight already?”

Judai’s shaking moves his shoulders in violent shaking, and soon he’s raising his head to reveal a full-blown grin and Chronos can hear the laughter from his side of the field, “I’m so touched!” Chronos couldn’t tell if the boy’s tone was sincere or sarcastic, “A headteacher wants to duel me so seriously?”

Chronos pulls back in a disgusted flinch, _How deluded can you be? I have no intention of letting a drop-out like you pass through Duel Academy’s sacred gates!_

Judai’s grin settles into a cool smirk, _This is where my real skill is put to the test._ As he reaches for his deck for his draw, he hears a cooing. ‘ _Kuri kuri kuri!_ ’ Recognizing the sound from earlier that day, Judai feels something is different, _Who is… calling me?_

Judai pulls the top card from his deck and is faced with the fluffy form of Winged Kuriboh.

_Ah_ , Judai smiles, _you were the one?_ Judai inspects the card, smile turning wry, _Er, no way, right?_

Even so, Judai remembers the man that gave him this card, telling him it was lucky, and Judai can swear he sees the illustrated wings glow.

Something warm fills Judai’s chest, _Ah,_ Winged Kurioboh _, huh?_ Judai reads over the card description, and he understands what to do. The image shifts, and as he hears the ‘ _Kuri kuri_!’ cooing, he swears the fluffball winked. His face grows warm, but he grins back down at the card, _Okay, I’ll trust you!_

“I summon _Winged Kuriboh_ from my hand in defense position!”

The small ball of fluff almost looks similar to Judai’s hair when it appears on his field, set apart mostly by the white wings sprouting from it’s back.

“Then I set one more card on the field and end my turn.”

Chronos laughs, “A _Kuriboh_ but with wings, eh? You do seem to possess an unusual card-- but it is naught but a low-level monster! Summoning it in defense position will give you no defense against the piercing effect of my _Antique Gear Golem_!” Chronos shrugs in a dismissive manner, “But I suppose a small monster suits a small player. It is my turn now, is it not?” Chronos doesn’t even look at his card as he draws, “This is the end. _Antique Gear Golem_ , pound that _Kuriboh_!”

The giant metal hulk pulls it’s arm back once again and slams it down on the fluffy creature as the _Kuriboh_ lets out a ‘ _Kuri_!’ Judai winces at the creature’s destruction, _Sorry, Winged Kuriboh. Thanks._

A moment passes, and Chronos’ smile slips into a frown, “Why aren’t your life points going down?”

Judai’s smile is small and calm, “On the turn that _Winged Kuriboh_ , any damage I take is reduced to zero.”

Chronos’ face blanches and the onlookers are a mixture of gasps and giggles.

Sho’s eyes wide, he marvels at the boy’s rare card, “A card that a Chronos-sensei doesn’t know about?”

Daichi shook his head slightly, gaze still locked firmly on the duel, “There are some things even teacher don’t know. The world of dueling is fathomless.”

As Judai discards his new friend, Chronos mocks him, “Oh, so is that the small’s monster’s effect?”

Judai’s smile falters again, “He’s a friend who risked his life to save me. You’re going to pay for calling him ‘small!’”

“Such impudence! He’s merely a stopgap monster. What am I to call him, if not small?”

“No,” Judai’s face breaks out into a smile once again, fond and excited, “ _Winged Kuriboh’s_ cry was the signal that awakens the monsters of my deck!” Judai presses a button on his disk, “I activate my trap card, _Hero Signal_!”

A purple card depicting an image of a skyline with a spotlight on the sky flips up on the field and as it fades away into light, Judai’s deck glows as a single card slides out.

Judai pulls the card out and sets it on the field, “I special summon _Elemental HERO Burstlady_ from my deck!” In a burst of bright red flame, a woman-like figure with a golden crown, black hair, and a white and red body appears on the field with 1200ATK. With that, “My turn, draw!”

Judai smirks. Just the card he needs.

“ _Winged Kuriboh_ ,” Judai speaks to his deck, “I heard your encouragement. Now watch me…” Judai places another spell card on the field, “Next, _Featherman’s_ indomitable fighting spirit is reborn. I use the spell card, _Warrior Returning Alive_!” A monster card slides from Judai’s graveyard and into his hand, “I return him to hand, and summon him!” Once again, _Featherman_ takes up his position on the field, protectively between Judai and his enemy.

Chronos scoffs, “What can a cheap comic book hero accomplish? He’s nothing more than a normal monster!”

“Normal monsters with low attack points are merely temporary identities for _Featherman_ and _Burstlady_ ,” Judai grins, “Don’t be too shocked when you see their true form, sensei. I activate the spell card _Polymerization_!”

Chronos falters.

“I fuse _Featherman_ and _Burstlady_ ,” Judai’s two monsters fade into white light that draws together, “And I fusion summon my favorite card, _Elemental HERO Flame Wingman_!”

A humanoid chimeric creature appears, half green with a lizard-like tail, and half red with a dragon head for an arm-- a single white wing extending from it’s back. The card reads 2100ATK.

The crowd is shocked at Judai’s series of events, Sho cooing in awe, “That’s so cool!”

Daichi nods, though his sentiments slightly less affectionate and more curious, “ _Flame Wingman_ can only be fusion summoned,” A small, almost unnoticeable smile slips onto his face, “When it destroys an enemy in battle, it deals damage to the opposing player equal to the destroyed monsters attack points.”

“But…” Sho deflates, “It only has 2100ATK, doesn’t it? It’s nowhere near Antique Gear Golem.”

Daichi almost laughs, “Yes, but if he’s really so confident, he’ll find something out, won’t he?”

Sho laughs nervously, “I don’t know if I’d trust just his confidence...”

“May I offer you a special lesson?” Chronos offers snidely, “A duel requires none of your extraneous talk. Do remember this! Even if you special summon _Flame Wingman_ , it’s attack points are a mere 2100,” He tuts and shakes his head sympathetically, “It cannot compete with my _Antique Gear Golem_!”

“Then let me teach you something, sensei,” Judai calls out, starling Chronos from his ‘lesson,’ “Heroes have a super heroic stage they can fight on,” A hidden slot slides open at the end of Judai’s duel disk, making room for a special spell card to be inserted, “Field magic, _Skyscraper_!”

The slot on Judai’s disk snaps closed with a new card, and the field is enveloped in white light as the holograms work construct a realistic cityscape around them. _Antique Gear Golem_ stumbles in hesitation while _Flame Wingman_ easily moves with the shifting landscape. The chimera-like beast takes his rightful place among the buildings, fake moonlight highlighting his form.

“Now,” Judai grins up at his monster, at home in the dark city, “The stage is set-- go, _Flame Wingman_!”

The figure descends from the sky, but Chronos laughs, unafraid of the encroaching danger, “You must be joking! _Flame Wingman_ ’s attack points do not even approach that of _Antique Gear Golem_ ’s!”

As _Wingman_ ’s form falls further down, he lands on the ground just below the hulking golem, using the ground to spring back up just under the golem’s torso, “Heroes always win!” Judai exclaims, “ _Skyscraper_ is a field spell; when a _HERO_ fights a monster with higher attack points, that _HERO_ ’s attack is boosted by 1000 points!”

In a moment, Chronos deflates, “Oh,” Then, his form inflates with despair, “OH!”

“Take this! Skyscraper Shoot!” _Wingman’s_ points go up to 3100 just as he collides with the golem, the chimera’s body bathed in flame that consumes them both.

Chronos watches, unable to do a thing as his face runs through a million expressions of pain, fear, and anger. The rare _Antique Gear Golem_ collapses, crumbling on Chronos, knocking the man’s life points down to zero.

“Gotcha!” Judai cheers with a wink on his face, sending a two-fingered salute to the half-collapsed teacher, “That was a fun duel, sensei!”

Around them, the holograms all fade, Judai waving a cheerful goodbye to his Flame Wingman.

Chronos shakes, fully aware that he, indisputably, just lost to a ‘drop-out,’ “How…” Chronos whispered to himself, “How could I lose to a drop-out like this?”

In the stands, Jun moves slowly, still reeling from what he just saw. Leaning forward eyes wide, Jun whispers to himself, “I can’t believe it. Chronos-sensei lost to an examinee?”

In another section, Sho cheers, louder than his usual anxious self, “Great work, Yuki-kun!”

Beside him, Daichi smiles something far softer than any of his earlier expressions, You’ll make a good rival.

Judai cheerfully waves to Sho, jumping and whooping, “I won! Yeah!”

Remembering something, Judai pauses in his celebrating and pulls a certain card from his duel disk, _Look forward to working with you, partner._

_Winged Kuriboh_ winks at him, _‘Kuri kuri!’_


End file.
